The well-known hook and loop fastening system, e.g., the commercial product widely marketed under the mark “VELCRO”™, basically consists of a large first plurality of flexible hooks provided on a first substrate and a matching large second plurality of flexible loops provided on a second substrate for pressed engagement between them. For convenience of use, the substrates customarily are sold together as sets, often in the form of strips of matching width and length or, alternatively, as similarly sized and shaped circular or square elements. The hooked and looped portions of such a system typically are separately secured to two objects that are temporarily fastened to each other by pressed simultaneous engagement of a substantial number of the hooks to a substantial number of the loops. The loops typically are more flexible than the hooks.
The substrates may each be provided with adherent on their sides opposite to the hooks or loops, the user thereby being enabled to adhere the respective cooperating substrate portions to the two objects that may then be pressed to each other to cause the intended engagement between the pluralities of hooks and loops. Such an embodiment is particularly suited for attachment of relatively stiff-sided objects, e.g., a soap dish to a shower wall in a bathroom.
In another embodiment of the system, particularly suited for applications involving soft-sided objects comprising fabrics or flexible sheets, the cooperating substrates are each sewn to respective portions of the same object, e.g., either the hook or the loop element to the outside of a pocket and the other cooperating element to a pocket flap to cover the pocket securely. This is a very popular usage of the existing hook and loop fastener system, particularly on garments, pillow covers, purses and wallets, diapers, open-weave bandages, soft luggage such as backpacks, and the like.
Yet another popular use for the hook and loop fastener system is to temporarily locate soft fabric items in selected relationship with other fabric items, e.g., headrest covers on upholstered furniture, aircraft, bus or train seats, sofa pillows on sofa frames, player identification numbers on sports uniforms, etc.
A serious problem arises, however, when items such as garments or headrest covers provided with hook fastener elements are washed with relatively soft and generally fluffy items such as towels and bathrobes, cottons sweaters, flannel bed linens, etc., because the hooks tend to engage and often rip off fibers from the materials of the soft fluffy items. While such undesirable engagement may often occur when the materials are dry, the problem is aggravated when the contacted fibers are wet and are repeatedly forced against the hooks, e.g., in a washing machine. The ripped-off fibers eventually clog the hooks and significantly deteriorate their capacity to engage thereafter with their loop counterparts for their intended use; and the items from which the fibers were ripped off tend to weaken and/or look damaged. The problem arises simply because in known hook and loop fastening systems employed with garments or the like there is always present a plurality of hooks provided to cooperate with every plurality of loops.
In the example of headrest covers, e.g., for use on upholstered furniture, or on aircraft, bus or train seats, the preference typically is to provide the hooks on the removable cover so that even if the cover is absent passengers will not find their hair entangled in hooks that otherwise would have to be located at about head level on the seat backs. The covers have to be cleaned frequently for hygienic reasons, and if the hooks provided on them become clogged with fibers snagged from cover material contacted during the washing process then their utility is eventually compromised.
Even with an embodiment in which either the hook and/or the loop element is provided on a relatively stiff surface, on an item not normally washed with soft fluffy items, there may be occasional problems, e.g., if the hook element is attached to a bathroom wall and a person with long wet hair happens to contact the hair to the hooks the hooks may rip off some of the wet hair.
A definite need therefore exists for a solution that will eliminate such problems arising from inadvertent engagement of the hooks in hook and loop fastener systems with ambient fibers, e.g., with a person's hair, and/or with sources of fibers like cloth upholstery, loosely woven curtains, dander from long-haired pets, or the like.
The present invention addresses this need, and provides a versatile and improved hook and loop fastening system with which users can easily avoid and/or minimize these and similar problems in a wide variety of applications.